Woods Hotel Changshu

... need to line up for anything it's a free for-all. You have to be aggressive to get your spot. People jump the line all the time and don't think anything of it. Drives me NUTS!!!!

... the heat and be vigilant about the door ( we
have a sign on the door to keep it closed, a rather large sign just in
case someone forgets. I did not put the sign there but I think it was
an incredibly wonderful idea) so it stays nice and warm in there.

As I
leisurely eat my lunch I can enjoy the comfort of the warmth,
especially after one of my students introduced me to the Chinese water
bottle. One of my ...

Suzhou is home to China's famous gardens, where poets, artists and philosophers spent their time during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Ah, the good old days. Sitting around drinking tea, shooting the ****, and attaining moral perfection.

But the Chinese have no trouble moving on. Like most of the North, the history of this city seems covered in a thin layer of dust kicked up by progress. What remains seems to exist exclusively for tourist dollars, evidenced by whole towns in ...

... train is being built between Shanghai and Beijing. It will cover the 1100 miles in 4 hours and will be quite an impressive structure. New freeways were being built all over as well.

Joe explained that 30 years ago, nothing was there except rice paddies. The city and the country have really changed since they opened their doors to the rest of the world in the 1980s.

It’s nice to have free internet in our Holiday Inn hotel!

... retired from his work. Now it's a governmental garden and people are permitted to visit and enjoy the scenery.It's now one of the four famous garden in Suzhou and it's recorded by UNESCO as a World heritage site in 1997.


In fact it has many guest rooms with Chinese old style furniture. It's roof even has the dragon shape style of houses and the roof is made of brick. Many show rooms displays owners of the garden in all years, and photos of garden in many ...

... with. That first night I dreamt about something happening in New York, but in the back of my mind I was always thinking 'but you're in China.' Multiple times in my dream I convinced myself that I had already gone back to New York to visit, and that I would return on Monday to begin teaching. The electricity generally didn't work in my hotel room... one lamp would turn on, but nothing of mine would charge in any outlet. I took a shower and went out for a walk ...

... very familiar with our hotel room for the next few days. We had a purple patch were we managed to do some siteseeing, a spot of shopping with ferocious bartering, which we are all getting rather good at now! We went to the 54th floor for an "English" cup of tea and an amazing view. Jack fell ill on the last day with Karen feeling pretty awful, and Steve closely following! Obviously we had all picked up a Chinese bug, what a shame to finish our exciting ...

... cars, minivans, taxis, and trucks -- all going in different directions, all at once. Pedestrians do not have the right of way in China. We're getting the hang of it though. We wandered through market after market trying not to buy every antique trinket and/or great smelling food item we saw. This is a truly crazy city - it's much bigger and denser than Beijing and more exciting and chaotic. Better ...

Some cities evolve over hundreds and sometimes thousands of years while others peak, fade and die in the space of just a few generations. When a centrally controlled state enjoys the benefit of not only a strong economy but also a hearty desire to showcase its newfound power and prestige, a world class city full of splendor and light is almost inevitable. Nowhere in the world has a modern state tested the notion that "if you build it they will come", more than the central Chinese ...

... fly out of Tibet, we may stop someplace or go straight back to Shanghai for additional time Mimi needs in Shanghai. Zhiongdian was recently renamed Shangri-la by the government because they claim their research shows this area is the original Shangri-la. Hopefully I'll get Internet access on our way to Tibet but don't be surprised if you don't hear form us in a while. Copyright © 2006 by M Dziedzic